Page 225 of Cross Check

“What do you mean? Do you not think he feels the same?” Lainey asks. “I watched you two during dinner, Amelia. He couldn’t take his eyes off of you.”

“I think he feels the same,” I say. “I-I know he does. I can’t describe it, but I can feel it when I’m with him.”

“So why are you afraid?”

“Because for as much as we exist in a happy bubble, there’s always the wonder of what happens if anyone finds out. You two are the only ones who know about our relationship, and the number of people we can tell is next to zero,” I say. “Is that sustainable? Will we eventually get too tired of having to hide everything and go our separate ways?”

“The reason no one can find out is because of your job, right?” Sienna asks, and I nod. “We talked about this before when you mentioned a mystery man you were friend-zoning a couple years back. I get why you’re hesitant of the repercussions, Amelia, but I think at the end of the day, you have to decide if being with Grant and hiding it from everyone is more important to you than not being with Grant and being open about the relationship you’re in.”

“I’m worried he’s going to get tired of not being able to talk about us to his friends. I’m afraid he’s going to see how easy some of his teammates have it with their significant others and how open they can be with their affection, and he’s not going to want complicated and sneaky.”

“We were only with him for a couple of hours, but that man only wants to be with you, Amelia.” Lainey pats my hand. “He listens to you. He watches you when you speak. He lights up when you laugh. He knew what he was getting into when he kissed you the first time, and I don’t think he would’ve made that leap if he only cared about things being easy.”

“I never thought I’d be the woman who put her happiness in a man, but he makes me so happy. Beyond that, he supports me. He genuinely wants me to succeed, even if it comes at the hands of his own defeat, and that’s confusing on its own. I’ve spent so much of my life putting walls up to protect myself from men who might be detrimental to my career. Then along comes someone so different from everyone else, I’ve had to actively tell myself that there are good guys out there, and Grant is one of them.” I rub a hand over my chest. I swear there’s a tattoo on my heart, a tiny marking with the letter g imprinted on my soul. “That’s so scary too. What if I mess up? What if I run and leave the best thing to ever happen to me?”

“I hate to tell you this sweetie, but you’re going to mess up,” Lainey says. “And so is he. You’re human, and humans make mistakes. The two of you are going to miscommunicate and argue and struggle with different schedules and professional goals. But if you take everything away—all the attention on you, all the hurdles you’ve jumped to get to where you are today, all the shit you’ve had to wade through to become this version of yourself right now—who would you want waiting for you on the other side?”

“Grant,” I say without any thought. No debate, no hesitation. I’m absolutely sure it’s him, and the idea of it being anyone else is inconceivable. “He’s my favorite person in the world.”

“That’s your answer. Be scared. Be afraid, Amelia, but also welcome that happiness you deserve.” Sienna smiles at me. “You’ve spent so much of your life having to dull the shine of your accomplishments for the people around you, but Grant wants you to fucking glow.”

He does, and I’m falling so in love with him because of it.

“I’m so sorry it took me so long to tell you what was going on. I hate that I wasn’t honest from the beginning,” I say.

“Don’t apologize,” Lainey says. “There are big stakes here. Your job is on the line. You’re taking a risk by being with him, and you wanted to protect yourself.”

“Exactly. It’s not that I don’t trust you all. I do. And it feels so good to finally have this out in the open.” A laugh slips out of me. “No more secrets.”

We spend the rest of the night catching up with each other’s lives. It’s perfect and fun and exactly what I needed from my best friends. After they head to their rooms to decompress on their own, I shut my bedroom door and climb in bed. I reach for my phone, tapping Grant’s name for a FaceTime call and waiting for the line to connect.

“Hey, baby,” he says when he answers from his own bed. “What’s up?”

“Your glasses are cute,” I say. “You should wear them more.”

“That’s much nicer than being called a nerd by my teammates.” He grins. “How was the rest of your night with the girls? Did you survive your interrogation?”

“It was good.” I draw my knees to my chest and stare at him through the screen. “I told them about us. They were asking questions, and it didn’t feel right to lie after they met you. I know I’m the one who said we needed to keep our relationship under wraps, and I’m sorry if⁠—”

“Lia. Sweetheart. Breathe.” Grant chuckles and turns on his side, his elbow propping him up. “I’m not mad at you for telling your best friends about our relationship.”

“You’re not?”

“Not at all. We want to be secretive to protect your reputation, but are we really planning on going years without anyone finding out we’re dating? That’s not possible, and it would be so damn difficult to be that careful, all the time. If you trust Lainey and Sienna to keep a secret, so do I.”

“I can’t tell you how much better I feel now that they know.” I sigh and lean against the headboard. “Are you going to tell your teammates?”

“Not yet. Not because I doubt where this is going,” Grant adds. “But because there are so many of them. Between Riley working on the coaching staff and Ethan’s large social media accounts, there’s a lot of room for things to go wrong.”

“That’s true. You all are a chatty bunch.” I bite back a laugh. “Lainey and Sienna said that you look at me even when I’m not talking. Is that true?”

“I’m always looking at you. In every room, at every game. When you’re three feet away from me and laughing with your friends. You’re fucking magnetic, baby, and I’d be stupid to look anywhere else.”

That ball of warmth that’s taken a permanent space behind my ribs heats to nearly scalding. It pulses, threatening to scorch my heart in the process.

“I’m looking at you too,” I whisper. “I’m glad they know about us. I’m glad I can share my happiness with the people I love, and I’m glad they like you.”

“Do they? Hell yeah. I’m storing those best friend points away for when I need them.” Grant pumps his fist, and I giggle. “It’s because I picked up the check, isn’t it? We can thank the Stars for my nice payday.”